Uber Records $2.8 Billion Loss

Uber recorded a $2.8bn loss in 2016 in the middle of an aggressive global expansion, cementing it place as the most heavily loss making private company in the history of Silicon Valley.

The San Francisco-based transportation company also grew rapidly over the year, reporting net revenues of $6.5bn for 2016.

This makes Uber significantly larger than companies such as Yahoo, Twitter, Snapchat or Airbnb in terms of revenue. In previous quarters, Uber’s financials have been closely scrutinised by investors and often leaked to the press.

On Friday, the company took the highly unusual step of directly confirming its audited revenues and losses for the fourth quarter and full year. As the most highly-valued private technology company in the world, the group has raised eyebrows over how quickly it has burnt through cash as it has expanded to more than 70 countries and pumped money into incentive payments for drivers.

These losses started to narrow in the fourth quarter of last year, reaching $991m on an adjusted basis that excludes interest, tax, depreciation, and employee stock options. Those losses are 5 per cent higher than the third quarter, during which time revenues grew 70 per cent.